At the Foot of the Garden

Blood & Time is another in the ever-growing compendium of Neurosis-related side projects, this one including vocalist/guitarist Scott Kelly and keyboardist Noah Landis, with support via bassist Anthony Nelson and drummer Stephen Garrett. First album At the Foot of the Garden is, like Kelly's solo work, Sunday morning music — somber, mellow, and entirely acoustic; in other words, the sonic reversal of Neurosis' Black Sabbath-ish rumblings. However, removing the lion's teeth doesn't take away its animalistic urges, so it's no surprise that Blood & Time simmers with subtle intensity even as tempos rarely rise above a comatose heart rate, minor keys rule, and sparse instrumentation leaves many wide-open spaces in the misty mix for Kelly's raspy, sung-spoken vocals. Miles-distant electric guitar, industrialized samples, spoken poetry, and a morose organ lend color to "Shining King," "Their Constant Battle," and "Glorious Sky," a three-part suite that's the album's centerpiece; "Crown of Teeth" swells to a more conventional, rock-rooted catharsis (even if any drama is succinctly downplayed); and "Our First Thought," with a rootsy, almost upbeat plucked guitar arpeggio, could be interpreted as a vague, indirect love song. Otherwise, At the Foot of the Garden is mostly gray in tone, lyrically meditative, and, like most Neurosis-related material, builds appreciation with repeated listens. Like Neurosis' moments of subdued tension-building, Blood & Time can be disarmingly quiet, and the pseudo-pagan lyrics utilize many worshipful icons from the natural world — elements that should appeal to those who sink their teeth fully into the Neurosis collective's increasingly vast artistic depths.